Sunset, Kailua-Kona, The Big Island, Hawaii, March 11, 2024

Sunset, Kailua-Kona, The Big Island, Hawaii, March 11, 2024
Sunset, Kailua-Kona, The Big Island, Hawaii, March 11, 2024

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Corpus Christi, Follow-up #2 -- Tues., Oct. 9, 2012

So much excitement for my second foray out after the face plant. Bob drove us to Corpus Christi for my second follow-up with the maxillofacial surgeon. 

Once again, Dr. Cutbirth was amazed by how well my face is healing. Today, he took out the nose stents which kept my nasal passages open while my broken nose set up enough to support my nose by itself. Removing the stents entailed him removing one stitch from each nostril, then using tweezers to pull out the stents. OW, OW, OW. 

I admit, I cried and screeched a bit. But once they were out, I could breathe so much better through my nose! Now I can try sleeping in bed again instead of the recliner. He told me not to worry about lying on my side because my cheeks have enough cartilage growing over the bones now that it is like a callus. He said the bones won't separate at this point.

The appointment lasted all of ten minutes. He again patiently answered my questions. I will go back in two weeks to have the wires removed from my jaws. After the wires come out, I will make an appointment to see a dentist for x-rays and deep cleaning of my teeth. At that time, I will find out my options for what will need to happen with my teeth before we go to Australia. Worst case would be I will have three or four teeth removed from the top front jaw. I'm hoping I will be able to have some type of temporary front teeth  put in. Guess we'll see.

After the appointment, Bob drove me over to Mustang Island State Park on the Gulf Coast. The state park has a security gate which is open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.


Love how the Escape pod is framed.
 
I took a couple of photos of the campground and the ocean. From the campsites, it's a short walk through the dunes to the ocean.



Pretty basic back-in sites at the campground.
The walk to the Gulf Coast.
Or, if you have 4WD, you can drive and camp on the beach.
Driving west from Mustang Island, shorebirds were all along the intercoastal waterway. I was able to zoom in on these two beauties from the shoulder of the road.


Long-billed curlew.
Great blue heron.
Next we headed over to look at another campground I had read about: Nueces County Texas--Padre Balli Park.




We were not impressed with this "campground." See what you think. There is good access to the Gulf beach and Bob Hall Pier, however.


Padre Balli Campground.
Another view of Padre Balli.
The beach and pier.


Well, as long as we're here, let's continue on to Padre Island National Seashore!

After waiting for a pilot car to take us a few miles through road construction, we arrived at Malaquite Pavilion Visitor Center around 4:00 p.m. Lucky for us the Visitor Center was open until 5:00 p.m. We watched two short videos: one on the five types of sea turtles that live along Padre Island with an emphasis on Kemp's ridley turtles, and one on orientation to the seashore. 

Padre Island, at 65.5 miles, is the longest barrier island in the world. It is noted for abundant bird and marine life, excellent fishing, world-class windsurfing [we saw a couple of people out windsurfing today], and wide, sandy beaches. The Gulf coastline includes windswept dunes, wild landscapes of coastal prairie grasses, teeming tidal flats, and warm offshore waters. [So says the National Parks of Texas brochure.]







A display in the Visitor Center anchored by Bob. LOL.
I can't smile, so this is the best I can do for now.




When we finished here, we headed over to HEB grocery where Bob bought me a berry smoothie and he got snacks (Triscuits, cheese and orange juice) for the 2-1/2 hour ride back to the 5er.

It was a very beautiful day. I got a little tired, but managed to walk around a bit. I did sleep for a wee bit in the car on the way back.

Welcome to Bob and Linda, new followers from Bob and Linda's RV Travels. They do reviews of RV parks, write travel blogs about their travels (since 2008), including their trek to Alaska. 

Tomorrow Bob's taking me to Costco so I can have a new optometry exam. Once that is done they can write a new prescription and I can order new glasses to replace the ones that busted up my forehead and nose when I fell. If possible, I will have them just order new lenses for the old frames. We'll see how that goes. That will be a much shorter trip.

Travel Bug saying "It's great to be traveling again!"

22 comments:

  1. On the road again.... I can hear it now... you singing the song or maybe just humming along.... I'll sing!! So glad you are up and about. It has to be good for you spirits!

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    1. Yep, I love that song, "I just can't wait to get on the road again."

      I also like Tom Petty's "Runnin' Down a Dream."

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  2. Glad you are making great progress! Keep it up.

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    1. Glad to see you out and about. Hope it felt good to be in the sunshine.

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    2. Good to be in the sunshine, warmth, slight breeze and nature.

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  3. OWWIE OWWIE OWWIE OW! Oh man. It hurts enough just to know this happened to you. I'm going to talk about something else now to take my mind off it.

    Annie will occasionally say, as if out of nowhere, "I miss Super HEB." We didn't get excited about CC itself, except for HEB, but then we didn't have to visit a maxillofacial surgeon...DARN it, I was changing the subject.

    We weren't impressed with the looks of that campground, either. We preferred the laguna side of the PINS, where it's just boondocking, but a great view. A little crowded, though. The ocean side was $8/night, but no hookups and lots of salt spray. It was great being so close to the ocean, though.

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    1. Thanks for the empathy.

      We do like HEB. It's where we found my yummy Bolthouse Farms (from California) smoothies, fruit shakes and carrot juice for my new "diet." Not to mention all kinds of baby food to mix with chicken broth to drink.

      Susan

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  4. It's good to see you out of the house and in some sunshine. One step at a time, I guess. Hang in there....then go home and get some kitty kisses.

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  5. You have every right to do some screeching. Your poor face and nose..oh and teeth. Gosh, I feel bad that you are having to deal with all of that. But I agree that an outing in the fresh air and sunshine is a good thing.

    I moved to Kansas from Texas 7 years ago and hadn't thought about HEBs for a long time. They don't exist here.

    I agreed about the RV park. Very minimalistic, heh? Still the beach looks inviting. Its been a few years since I have been down there and beaches, in general, make me happy.

    Take care of yourself, and I hope you continue (at lightening speed) to improve and recover.

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    1. Yep the screeching helped. Scared the poor doctor, though. He told his nurse to hold my hand. Awww.

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  6. Glad you're healing up!

    I have fond memories of collecting hermit crabs at Mustang Island with my sister and a friend on a trip to Texas many years ago. For land-locked Colorado girls, that was a whole lot of ocean fun. Thanks for sharing the great photos.

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    1. Childhood memories are grand, aren't they? It's great our parents took us out for new experiences.

      Our parents took us to the Mojave desert, Yosemite and Idyllwild. Great memories.

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  7. So glad you are continuing to get good news on your healing process. I'm sure it felt just to get out for a while. You are one tough lady!

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    1. I will feel so much more human when I get the wires out of my jaw (two weeks and counting down!). Then I can smile, talk normally, and eat soft foods at first.

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  8. Sounds like you are making great progress. It still sounds so painful. Have you lost weight? I have heard of people wiring their mouths shut to loose weight. Definitely not the way I want to do it. Hope you are all better soon!

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    1. I have lost at least ten pounds. Believe me when I say, I would never wire my jaw shut voluntarily. I would rather have broken my wrist or arm.

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  9. Boy, having had lots of trauma myself with teeth, I wince when I read your descriptions...But so glad you are healing fast, that you can breathe better...It's wonderful to see you back out in nature again. The beach photos make me think I MIGHT be ready to head south soon....

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    1. I empathize wholeheartedly with the trauma to your teeth. I hope you have them all fixed up now. I'm afraid of what I yet have in store.

      Jeannie, ready to head south? What would Eldy say? "Finally"???


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